national china garden

NATIONAL CHINA GARDEN FOUNDATIONNATIONAL CHINA GARDEN

NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION - CONCEPT REVIEW SUBMISSIONOCTOBER, 2015

DRAWING INDEX01 - Original Master Plan Update 200702 - Garden Concept Site Plan 200703 - Aerial View of Site04 - Existing Site Conditions05 - Existing Site Conditions06 - Design Philosophy07 - Design Philosophy08 - Garden Aerial View Rendering09 - Overall Site Plan10 - Overall Site Accessibility11 - Ge Garden Accessibility Recommendations12 - MTN House Accessibility Recommendations13 - Site Sections14 - Site Sections15 - Site Plan Update Overlay16 - Build Alternative17 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures18 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures19 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures20 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures21 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures22 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures23 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures24 - Plans & Elevations of Buildings / Structures

NATIONAL CHINA GARDEN FOUNDATION SHEET NUMBER

PageOCTOBER, 2015USNA

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01ORIGINAL MASTER PLAN UPDATE WITH PROJECT SITE 2007

CHINA GARDEN SITE



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02GARDEN CONCEPT SITE PLAN 2007



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03AERIAL VIEW OF SITE



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04EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS

CHINA GARDEN SITE LOOKING EAST CHINA GARDEN SITE LOOKING SOUTHWEST



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05EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS

CHINA GARDEN SITE LOOKING WEST FROM HILLTOP CHINA GARDEN SITE LOOKING SOUTHEAST



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06DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe National China Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum is expected tobe the finest example of a classical Chinese garden in the United States.The China Garden is based on an original design developed by a team ofdesigners from China and is located in an idyllic setting just two miles fromthe Capitol of the United States. The garden incorporates the best featuresof several well-known gardens in the famous Chinese garden citiesYangzhou and Suzhou. The garden will be built on a 12-acre, undevelopedparcel and will feature a harmonious balance of man-made structures,plants, water and rock formations. All the above ground structures in theNational China Garden will be designed and constructed by the Chinesedesigners and craftsmen, using traditional Chinese architectural precepts.In addition, the U.S. team will design and construct a Support ServiceBuilding which will be staffed with administrative and maintenancepersonnel.

THE GARDENS AND CHINESE PHILOSOPHIESConfucian and Taoist philosophy both emphasize the need for humanbeings to live in harmony with nature. This principle, the" Unity of Heavenand Humanity," gave rise to the traditional Chinese respect for Nature andthe desire to recreate Nature in art. Under the influence of this philosophy,Chinese gardens organically combine architecture, landscape and arts,using Nature to recreate Nature within a limited space. Integrating naturalbeauty and exquisite human craft, classical Chinese gardens are the man-made embodiment of the "Unity of Heaven and Humanity". Many of thebuilders and owners of those gardens were former officials who hadrenounced political ambitions in government for a life of art and study, orwealthy merchants fleeing the noisy and chaotic lives of the cities.

GARDEN TYPESThe National China Garden will feature three types of prevalent classicalChinese gardens. The first type is private residential gardens. This type ofgarden was usually formed in the backyards of people of higher social statussuch as high officials, wealthy merchants or prominent scholars. Thesegardens are not necessarily grand in scale but the variety of ways to handlethe architecture, garden spaces, paths, views, rocks, ponds and plants willmake the visitors' experience extremely rich. The second type is a gardenclose to major water bodies. This type is originated from royal gardens asthe emperors and queens could afford to build extensive terraces andcorridors, besides pavilions, on the edge of the lakes. Such gardenstypically feature magnificent views over the water and beyond. The third typeis a garden in woods. These gardens usually feature a single structure thatis partially hidden behind the trees but also partially visible from afar. Thispartial visibility allures visitors to explore. Structures in such gardens aretypically sited on hills. They reward visitors with commanding views.

Namely, the National China Garden will have "Ge Garden" and "MountainHouse of Sliced Stones" as the first type of garden, "Garden on Lake" asthe second type and "Urban Forest" as the third type. These three types ofgardens start from a public path in the arboretum, smoothly roll into theinner part of the site and eventually end up on the wooded hill side.

Example: a residential garden

Example: a garden on lake

Example: a garden in woods



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07DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

LANDSCAPEThe vision for the National China Garden grew out of the 2004 agreement between China’s Ministry of Forestry and the US Department ofAgriculture to build a classical Chinese Garden in Washington, DC. China’s rich flora and long history of garden development has had aprofound influence on horticulture and garden design throughout the world. The landscape and structures of the garden are derived fromclassical gardens of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and express this vision within a compact setting to allow a complete understanding ofthe philosophies underlying the design, and to demonstrate their history, materials, and atmosphere. The garden in China is consideredto be an art form in itself, and classical Chinese gardens include five key components:- Rocks and rockeries, used as works of art- Water, serving as a balance for other elements in the garden- Scenic views, in which the structures divide the garden into smaller sections with distinctive scenery, including ‘borrowed’ views- Plantings- Artwork and arts, such as calligraphy, painting, poetry, dance, flower arranging and viewing-stones

LocationThe National China Garden is located on 12 acres of gently sloping meadow and pine forest at the United States National Arboretum(USNA). The project includes four major garden components: two walled residential style gardens, a lake garden, and a managed urbanforest garden. The complex is set 100 feet from Holly Springs Road to allow the enclosing walls to be carefully blended into the existingArboretum setting.

The GardensThe gardens throughout the project are conceived and named by the Chinese Design team, each representing the senses andexperiences of immersion into the world of this very special environment.

The sequence of entering the gardens will be from two arrival points. The main entrance begins with an elegant series of stone steps,starting the transition from the realm of the Arboretum into the world of the Classical Chinese garden. A landing at the top of the stepsfeatures a stone sculpture framed by the first opening between the walls. The second access point is to the north, where a small parkingarea for visitors requiring ramp access will proceed along a gently graded path, designed as a sinuous maple tree walkway also leading tothe main entry point.

The Ge Garden: is a four-season garden including the Embracing Mountain Building which will be used as a cultural center. Thelandscape includes extensive rockeries, small meandering water bodies and extensive plantings typical of elegant classical Chineseresidential gardens. All the pavilions will be furnished with examples of classical Chinese decorative arts and will provide an intimateglimpse into the highly cultured atmosphere of residential compounds in Ming and Qing Dynasty China.

The Mountain House of Sliced Stones: is a smaller, more modest garden which includes the Nanmu Hall, representing the lifestyle of aChinese scholar and the manner in which guests might have been received in his home. The pond, rockeries, and plantings are moremodest and naturalistic in feeling than those of the Ge Garden.

The Garden on Lake: occupies the largest area of the site. The lake, with its cascade and rocky edges, includes in its center the Tai-ChiIsle, a planting of flowering lotus and water lilies forming a ying/yang circular pattern. Located on the northern edge of the lake, the CulturalCorridor leads visitors from the Ge Garden to the Peony Garden, designed to be a signature garden devoted to the iconic Chinesepeonies, including both tree peony and herbaceous peony cultivars. The outer side of the corridor is partially enclosed by stone tabletsthat are engraved with ancient Chinese poems written in various types of calligraphy. At the south side of the lake, the Floating FragranceHall provides an unobstructed view of the entire garden and surrounding area. Koi fish will inhabit the lake during all seasons, and lakeedges, depths, and water quality will be designed to accommodate them.

The Urban Forest: is a wooded hillside garden, gently sloping up from the lake with commanding views of the entire garden complex.The Five Pavilion Terrace and the White Pagoda, both based on similar structures in China, are set among existing trees supplementedwith new plantings. These two pavilions allow visitors to experience the gardens with open views down slope to the lake.

PlantingsPlant materials will be installed at sizes as mature as possible to create a full representation of the quality of the classical Chinese garden.Plantings will be obtained in part from USNA collections and pre-growing, as well as through donations from other U.S. arboreta, andcommercial sources. A plant list, provided by the Chinese team, and analyzed for availability by the US design team, follows.

Parking, Service and Emergency Access, and ADA accessibilityA small parking area, servicing a modest maintenance building, are provided at the south edge of the site. Emergencyaccess roads are provided in accordance with fire access codes at the north side of the site and at the south side of the site,constructed of supported grass in order to minimize visual intrusion into the overall design.Access in accordance with ADA requirements is provided throughout the site as shown on the drawings. Because of thesteep slopes in two of the Urban Forest areas, and because of the nature of two of the rockeries within the individual walledgardens as particular examples of Chinese rockery art, access to those few areas is limited to visual access. Alternativeaccess to all features is provided.

ImplementationTwo teams of skilled practitioners have been working closely together since 2013 to bring these gardens to the NationalArboretum. The teams have travelled to each country, and have worked together in work sessions on both sides of theglobe.

The entire project as visible to visitors is designed by the Chinese classical garden design team, with infrastructure, sitepreparation and access designed in collaboration with the US design team to ensure compliance with US codes and permitrequirements. Construction will be provided by a site contractor who has had experience building projects in theWashington D.C. area, using teams of artisans brought from China. Materials for visible garden elements such as stonepaving, walls, and rockeries will be brought from China and installed by the master Chinese craftsmen also brought to theU.S. for this project.

Chinese scholarsused rocks as artin their homes.Large and porousgarden rocks areoften considered tobe among the mostvaluable in aclassical Chinesegarden. Theseageless objectssymbolize thedwellings of Taoistimmortals.

Water isconsidered to bethe centralcomponent of aclassical Chinesegarden, serving asa balance for theother elementsfound in thegarden. The bestsites for classicalChinese gardensare on the edges oflakes with views ofthe mountains.

The arrangement ofstructures dividesa classical Chinesegarden into smallersections with oneor more scenicviews. Thebuildings aredesigned to accentthe garden withwindows anddoorways thatframe scenic viewsin their courtyardsand beyond.

Certain plants arefavored forclassical Chinesegardens becauseof their associationwith overcomingthe limitations ofordinary life. Thepine, cypress,plum and bambooare favoritesbecause of theirability to grow inharsh weatherconditions andrough terrain.

Garden design isconsidered to be anart form in China,but one will alsofind other art formslike calligraphy,painting, poetry,dance, flowerarranging andviewing stones in aclassical Chinesegarden.

Rocks Water Views Plants ArtworkFIVE KEY ELEMENTS IN A CLASSICAL CHINESE GARDEN



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08GARDEN AERIAL VIEW RENDERING


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OVERALL SITE PLAN 09

1:1000


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OVERALL SITE ACCESSIBILITY 10

1:1000

1:400


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GE GARDEN ACCESSIBILITY RECOMMENDATIONS 11

1:400


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MTN HOUSE ACCESSIBILITY RECOMMENDATIONS 12


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SITE SECTIONS 13


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SITE SECTIONS 14

SUPPORTED TURF

WL 24.4

25.0

25.0


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SITE PLAN UPDATE OVERLAY 15

1:1250

SUPPORTED TURF

SUPPO

RTED TU

RF



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16BUILD ALTERNATIVE

GE GARDEN GATE ELEVATION

GE GARDEN GATE PLAN

JOYFUL-RAIN PAVILION ELEVATION

JOYFUL-RAIN PAVILION PLAN

FINDING-PHRASE PAVILION ELEVATION

FINDING-PHRASE PAVILION PLAN

0 20'

6 m



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17PLANS & ELEVATIONS OF BUILDINGS / STRUCTURES

EMBRACING-MOUNTAIN BUILDING ELEVATION

EMBRACING-MOUNTAIN BUILDING PLAN

TOUCHING-CLOUD PAVILION ELEVATION

TOUCHING-CLOUD PAVILION PLAN

0 20'

6 m



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BREEZY-AND-MOONLITHOUSE ELEVATION

BREEZY-AND-MOONLITHOUSE PLAN

CRANE PAVILION ELEVATION

CRANE PAVILION PLAN

GENTLE-RIPPLE PAVILIONELEVATION

GENTLE-RIPPLE PAVILIONPLAN

TYPICAL ROCKERIES ELEVATION

TYPICAL ROCKERIES PLAN

0 20'

6 m



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WEST CORRIDOR ELEVATION

WEST CORRIDOR PLAN

MOUNTAIN HOUSE GATEELEVATION

MOUNTAIN HOUSE GATE PLAN

FLAT BRIDGE SECTION

FLAT BRIDGE PLAN

0 20'

6 m



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NANMU HALL ELEVATION

NANMU HALL PLAN

REFLECTION ROOM ELEVATION

REFLECTION ROOM PLAN

OUTER-EAST CORRIDOR ELEVATION

OUTER-EAST CORRIDOR PLAN

0 20'

6 m



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ROCKERIES ELEVATION

ROCKERIES PLAN

BOAT HALL ELEVATION

BOAT HALL PLAN

FLOATING-FRAGRANCE HALL ELEVATION

FLOATING-FRAGRANCE HALL PLAN

0 20'

6 m



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120°

150°

CULTURAL CORRIDOR ELEVATION

CULTURAL CORRIDOR PLAN

0 20'

6 m



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DN

WHITE PAGODA ELEVATION

WHITE PAGODA PLAN

SUPPORT SERVICE BUILDING ELEVATION

SUPPORT SERVICE BUILDING PLAN

FIVE-PAVILION TERRACE ELEVATION

FIVE-PAVILION TERRACE PLAN 0 20'

6 m



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national china garden

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